IBM Weighs Dow Down; The World Economic Forum Has Begun

Stocks continue to be sluggish as they have been for the year so far. The Dow Jones is being weighed down by IBM (IBM) whose shares were down 3.5% during afternoon trading. The World Economic Forum began its 44th annual meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland. While this forum normally doesn't solve any major issues it is a chance for leaders from all over to meet and see what others are doing. Despite profits being up Texas Instruments (TXN) will be cutting 1,100 jobs this year.

The company will be cutting its embedded processing unit in Japan which will result in $130 million in annual savings. Target (TGT) will also be cutting 475 employees, citing retail 'transformation'. The CEO of News Corp's (NWS) Dow Jones subsidiary will step down, being replaced by William Lewis who will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.